Thread control for pneumatic thread extractors



July 9, 1940 c. DARWIN THREAD CONTROL FOR PNEUMATIC THREAD EXTRACTORSFiled June 9.' 1959 Patented July 9, 1940 I o l i i UNITED STATE-sTHREAD CONTROL FOR PNEUMATIC. THREAD EXTRACTRS Application June 9, 1939,SerialNo. 278,306

10 Claims. (o1. 139-256) This invention relates to improvements in thethread is limited in its forward motion away thread removers for weftreplenishing looms and from the intake mouth, and is likewise preventedit is the general object of the invention to profrom moving upwardly outof the range of the vide means for confining resilient weft threadsextractor. I have found that after cutting a porto positions where theycan respond to the action tionof the thread will either curl on itselfor 5 of the thread remover present a curved shoulder to theguard andthev There has recently come into use a form of latter dampens thethread movement and causes thread remover or extractor for weftreplenishit to lie across the friction material in a position TENTorrios ing looms embodying a pneumatic tube having where it can respondto the draft of air moving I,

an intake mouth into which air was caused to into the 'intake mouth.

rush by means of an air pump 'or the like. The With these and otherobjects in view which will intake mouth is so placed at the time oftransfer appear as the description-proceeds, my invention as to be inthe path of the thread extending resides in the combination andarrangement of from the selvage'into theshuttle'box as the lay partshereinafter described and set forth in the moves rearwardly. In order todirect the thread claims.

toward the mouth it is customary to use a tongue. In the accompanyingdrawing, wherein there projecting downwardly and forwardly in cooperaretwo forms of lmy invention set forth, ation with amass of deformablematerial such as Fig. 1 is a sidevelevation of parts of a weft pilefabric across which the threadv lies. The replenishing mechanism seenfrom the center of deformable material has a frictional contact with theloom with the preferred form of my invention `20 the thread sufficientto cause the latter to move applied thereto, parts in section,

rearwardly toward the intake mouths. l Fig. 2 is a plan View of the laytaken in the di- 4 In order that the thread may be free to respondrection of arrow 2, Fig. 1, with parts in section, to the thread removerthe thread is cut at a point Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line 3 3,Fig. 2, near the shuttle eye on a transferring beat of showingthepreferred form of the invention, l25 the loom while the lay is in aforward part of its Fig. 4 is a'detail front elevation taken in thereciprocating motion, and provision is made to direction of arrow 4,Fig. 2, and lower the thread remover from its normally raised Fig. 5 issimilar to Fig. 3 but showing a modified position by movement of thetransferrer means. form of theinvention. i As a result, the threadremover is in its down- Referring tothe drawings, I have shown a loom-30 ward position when the thread is cut at the shutframe l5, breast beamI6 and lay I'l of usual contle eye. struction except for matter to bedescribed here- When the weft being woven is resilient, as in inafter.The lay'has a shuttle box R to receive those types of threads used forthe weaving of a shuttle S from which a weft thread-W extends crepe, ithas a. tendency because of its elasticity toward the adjacent selvagekofthe fabric F. 35 to snap back toward the selvage. It is an impor- 'Ihereciprocating bobbin magazine 30 may tant object of my presentinventionl to provide oscillate about an axis 3| vby mechanism shownmeans which -Will extend into the path of the for instance in priorPatent No.2,128,9'74. The thread as the latter -moves toward theselvage, magazine includes a transferrer arm 35 movable 40 therebyresisting its motion toward the vcloth and about a pivot 36 when a latch3l is Struck in the 40 preventing it from moving to such a position asusual manner by forward motion of a dagger 38 would prevent cooperationwith the thread reon the lay, thus depressing the transferrer arm mover.This result I may accomplish by placing to effect transfer. A. cutterarm 40 pivoted about a plate on the tube and extending it forwardly avertical pin 4I carries a cutter blade 44 to cofrom the intake mouthover the deformable maoperate with a plate 45 on the shuttle to sever 45terial. the weft W on transferring beats of the loom In order that thethread may not snap forat a point near the shuttle eye. wardly out ofthe range of the thread remover A rod 10 mounted on a carrier 'H pivotedon a I form the thread guard so that the front end fixed stud 12 carriesa vertical tube 90 connected thereof projects below the top of thedeformable by a hose 9| to anair pump not shownherein 50 material orinto the piles of the friction. fabric but similar to that set forth `inco-pending appliextending across the top of the lay and at the cationSerial No. 190,637. 'Ihe tube 90 is held same time may keep the rearpart` of the guard in a head 82 on the forward end of rod 'Hl by aspaced slightly above thefriction material at a set screw Ii, and a roll83 on the head 82 is point'adjacent to the intake mouth. In this wayplaced for engagement with a cam 84 secured to 55 the transferrer arm35. A friction disk 'l5 between disks 'i3 and '14, Fig. 1, holds thetube Si) and rod 'lil against pivotal motion around stud l2 by their ownweight and these parts must therefore be acted upon positively in orderto effect their movement. A resetting screw 863 on the lay is positionedfor engagement with the carrier 'il as the lay approaches back center,While cooperation between the cam Sri and the roll 83 operates to lowerthe tube 9@ when the transferrer arm descends as the lay approaches itsfront center position on transferring beats of the loom.

The lay is provided on its upper surface with a transverse slot Sil inwhich is mounted a mass of deformable material such as pile tufts 6i. Atongue S2 extends diagonally downwardly and forwardly from the bottom ofthe tube and moves relatively to the pile tufts in a forward directionat a level below the weft thread which floats on the top of the piletufts as the lay recedes. The bottom of the tube 53 is provided with anintake mouth 53 into which air is drawn for the purpose of attractingthe thread. The inrush of air generally occurs during the backwardstroke of the lay which also moves the thread in frictional contact withthe pile tufts toward the intake mouth 93.

`The matter thus far described operates substantially the same as thatset forth in co-pending application Serial No. 190,637 to whichreference may be had for a more complete description of the structureand operation of the previously described parts which effect loweringand subsequent raising of the tube 90 and also the general function ofthe pile tufts 6i. It is thought suincient for present purposes to statethat the tube Si] is normally raised and is depressed on a transferringbeat of the loom when the lay is at or near its front center position tolower the bottom end of tube 9G toward the pile tufts 5I.

As already stated my present invention relates to guard means to confinethe thread to the Zone of influence of the thread remover. It is to beunderstood that if the weft W is resilient it will tend to snap towardthe selvage of the fabric F when severed at the shuttle eye as alreadydescribed. The thread is sufliciently active toI move itself off thepile tufts and out of the range of 1 influence of the thread removerunless some provision is made to insure its frictional contact with thepile tufts so that the latter can move the thread toward the intakemouth.

In carrying the preferred form of the present invention into eiiect Isecure a vertical plate or web 5!! to the bottom of the tube @il andfrom the lower edge thereof in such a way that when the t'ube 96 is downon a transferring beat that part of the lower edge indicated at 5i infront of and adjacent to the intake mouth S3 is slightly above the topsof the pile tufts di, while the forward part of the lower edge indicatedat 52 is low enough to extend into the deformable material below thetops of the pile tufts. By this construction I provide a thread trap thetop of which is defined by the surface 55,*the forward end of which isdetermined by the point at which the guard enters the pile fabricVthelower part of which `is defined by the tops of the tufts 6 i, and therear part of which is dened by the tube and parts carried thereby. Thethread is therefore effectively restrained as to objectionable lateralor vertical motion.

In the modification set forth in Fig. 5, substantially the whole of thebottom edge 55 of plate 51? extends below the tops of the pile tufts.This edge 55, it will be noted, is above the bottom of the tongue 92,and this relation is also true for the front part of plate 50 in thepreferred form.

In operation, the thread will extend from the selvage across the pilefabric and into the shuttle box as indicated in Fig. 2 immediatelybefore a transferring operation of the loom. When the transferrer armdescends it moves the tube down so that the guard will occupy a positionover the thread as indicated in Fig. 3. In the preferred form the threadwill ordinarily lie under the bottom edge 5l and be trapped between saidedge and the pile tufts. When the lay reaches front center the threadcutter will sever the thread and the free end of the latter willimmediately snap toward the selvage because of its inherent resilience.In the preferred form the thread trap is so narrow that the thread willhave difficulty in moving through it without engagement with the plate5t and the latter will therefore obstruct movement of the thread towardthe selvage. The edge 5i will be low enough to prevent substantialupward motion of the thread away from the pile tufts and the latter willordinarily have sufiicient contact with the thread to move the lattertoward the intake mouth and the tongue during the succeeding backwardmotion of the lay.

In the modified form of the invention the bottom of the plate 54 willpress the thread into the pile tufts a short distance sufficient to forma slight bight in the thread. This bight or crimp operates effectivelyto prevent motion of the thread away from the pile tufts, withoutinterfering with the tractive force exerted pneumatically on the thread.

In both forms of the invention I iind that the thread is restricted inits upward motion away from the pile tufts and in its relative forwardmotion away from the intake mouth, and that in both forms the guardplates snub or check motion of the free end of the thread toward theselvage.

It is to be understood that the forward motion of the lay andthe descentof tube 90 are coordinated in such a way as to cause the guard to movedown on the thread after the latter has been moved forwardly by advancemotion of the lay to a position under the guard. vAs already described,the tube 90 will be raised on the following back center position of thelay and therefore have no contact with the threads extending from theselvage into the shuttle box on non-transferring beats of the loom. Thesweep of the lay is such that it will reach a position sufficientlybehind the tube 9B at the time of picking to allow the shuttle to passbehind the tube without conict therewith.

In the foregoing description I have stated that the thread has atendency because of its inherent resilience to move toward the selvageat the time of cutting. If the thread is not pinched between the shuttleand the binder this tendency asserts itself immediately after cuttingand the thread will snap toward the selvage while the lay is on frontcenter position. If, on the other hand, the thread is pinched betweenthe shuttle and the binder it is not released until the time of picking,at which time the tendency of the thread to recoil on itself and movetoward the selvage is asserted. Under the latter conditions the threadwill normally be nearer the intake mouth than is the case when thethread is released while the lay is on front center, but I have foundthat a resilient thread which is not released until the time of pickingwill nevertheless be active enough to tend to spring to a position outof the range of the thread remover. My invention is therefore effectivewhether the thread is released either at transfer or picking.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a thread controlfor a pneumatic thread remover or extractor which acts to nullify thetendency of the thread to move out of the range of the thread removerbecause of its inherent resilience. It will further be seen that thethread guard not only resists longitudinal motion of the thread towardthe selvage but also limits upward motion of the thread and furthermorecooperates with the pile tufts to limit forward motion away from theintake mouth. It will further be seen that my invention will operateeither with a narrow thread trap immediately above the pile tufts asshown in the preferred form of the invention or by means of the modifiedplate 54 which sinks the thread a short distance below the tops of thepile tufts.

-I-Iaving thus described my invention it will be seen that changes andmodifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wishto be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a thread control mechanism for a loom having a lay provided with ashuttle from which a thread extends to the adjacent selvage, a mass ofdeformable material extending across the top of the lay under thethread, means to cut the thread at a point beyond the deformablematerial with respect to the selvage, a pneumatic thread extractorhaving a tongue extending below the top of the deformable material andhaving an intake mouth, the deformable material moving the thread byfrictional contact therewith toward the intake mouth as the lay movesrearwardly, and means extending forwardly from the thread extractor overthe thread to prevent the latter after cutting from moving upwardly awayfrom the deformable material.

2. In a thread control mechanism for a loom having a lay provided with ashuttle from which a thread extends to the adjacent selvage, a mass ofdeformable material extending across they top of the lay under thethread, means to cut the thread at a point beyond the deformablematerial with respect to the selvage, a pneumatic thread extractorhaving a tongue extending below the to-p of the deformable material andhaving an intake mouth, the deformable material moving the thread byfrictional contact therewith toward the intake mouth as the lay movesrearwardly, and means extending over the thread and below the top of thedeformable material at a point spaced from and in front of the tongue toprevent the thread after cutting from moving upwardly away from thedeformable material.

3. In a thread control mechanism for a loom having a lay provided with ashuttle from which a thread extends to the adjacent selvage, a mass ofdeformable material extending across the top of the lay under thethread, means to cut the thread at a point beyond the deformablematerial with respect to the selvage, a pneumatic thread extractorhaving a tongue extending below the top .of the deformable material andhaving an intake mouth, the deformable material moving the thread byfrictional contact therewith toward the intake mouth as the lay movesrearwardly, and a thread guard extending over the deformable mal terialforwardly from the intake mouth to prevent the thread after cutting frommoving upwardly away from the deformable material.

4. In a thread control mechanism for a loom having a lay provided with ashuttle from which a thread extends to the adjacent'selvage, a mass ofdeformable material extending across the top of the lay under thethread, means to cut the threadat a point beyond the deformable materialwith respect to the selvage, a pneumatic thread extractor having atongue extending below the top of the deformable material and having anintake mouth, the deformable material moving the thread by frictionalcontact therewith toward the intake mouth as the lay moves rearwardly,and a thread guard extending into the deformable material at a point infront of the intake mouth, said guard having a -portion between saidpoint and the intake mouth above the deformable material, the guardpreventing motion of the thread forwardly with respect to the deformablematerial to a position in front of the guard and also preventing motionupwardly away from said deformable material. y

5. In a thread control mechanism for a loom having a lay provided with ashuttle from which a thread extends to the adjacent selvage, a mass ofdeformable material extending across the top of lthe lay under thethread, means to cut the thread at a point beyond the deformablematerial with respect to the selvage, a pneumatic thread extractorhaving a tongue extending below the top of the deformable material andhaving an intake mouth, the deformable material moving the thread byfrictional contact therewith toward the intake mouth as the lay movesrearwardly, and a thread guard having a portion adjacent to the threadextractor above and out of contact with the deformable material andhaving another portion spaced forwardly from the intake mouth andlextending below the top of the deformable material, said guardpreventing substantial upward displacement of the thread away from thedeformable material.

6. In a thread control mechanism for a loom having a lay provided with ashuttle from which a thread extends to the adjacent selvage, a mass ofdeformable material extending across the top of the lay under thethread, means to cut the thread at a point beyond the deformablematerial with respect to the selvage, a pneumatic thread extractorhaving a tongue extending below the top of the deformable material andhaving an intake mouth, the deformable material moving the thread byfrictional contact therewith toward the intake mouth as the lay movesrearwardly,

. and mea-ns projecting forwardly from the thread extractor andextending below the top of the deformable material to form with thelatter a trap for the thread in front of the intake mouth,

'7. In a thread control mechanism for a loom having a lay provided witha shuttle from which a thread extends tothe adjacent selvage, a mass ofdeformable material extending across the top of the lay under thethread, means to cut the thread at a point beyond the deformablematerial with respect to the selvage, a pneumatic thread extractorhaving a tongue extending below the top of the deformable material andhaving an intake mouth, the deformable material moving the thread byfrictional contact therewith toward the intake mouth as the lay movesrearwardly, and a vertical plate projecting forwardly from the threadextractor above the deformable material and projecting below the latterat a point spaced from and in front of the intake mouth to prevent thethread after cutting from moving upwardly from said deformable material.

8, In a thread control mechanism for a loom having a lay provided with ashuttle from which a thread extends to the adjacent selvage, a mass ofdeformable material extending across the top of the lay under thethread, means to cut the thread at a point beyond the deformablematerial with respect to the selvage, a pneumatic thread extractorhaving a tongue extending below the top` of the deformable material andhaving an intake mouth, the deformable material moving the thread byfriotional contact therewith toward the intake mouth as the lay movesrearwardly, and a thread guard above the deformable material extendingtransversely of the thread to engage and resist motion of a resilientweft thread tending to move toward the selvage after cutting.

9. In a thread control mechanism for a loom having a lay provided with ashuttle from which l a thread extends to the adjacent selvage, a mass ofdeformable material extending across the top of the lay under thethread, means to cut the thread at a point beyond the deformablematerial with respect to the selvage, a pneumatic thread extractorhaving a tongue extending below the top of the deformable material andhaving an intake mouth the deformable material moving the thread byfrictional Contact therewith towardthe intake mouth as the lay movesrearwardly, the thread being resilient and tending to move toward theselvage after being cut, and a guard extending above but close to thedeformable material and ,forwardly from the intake mouth to resist saidmotion of the thread toward the selvage by engagement of the thread withthe guard.

Y 10. In a thread control mechanism for a loom having a lay providedwith a shuttle from which a thread extends to the adjacent selvage, amass of deformable material extending across the top of the lay underthe thread, means to cut the thread at a point beyond the deformablematerial with respect to the selvage, a pneumatic thread extractorhaving a-tongue extending below the top of the deformable material andhaving an intake mouth, the deformable material moving the thread byfrictional Contact therewith toward the intake mouth as the lay movesrearwardly, the thread beingv resilient and tending to move toward theselvage after being cut, and a guard extending forwardly from the intakemouth and having a portion above the deformable material adjacent to themouth and having another portion projecting below the top of thedeformable material at a point spaced forwardly from the mouth, saidguard including a vertical plate extending transversely of the thread,said guard and deformable material forming a trap to prevent movement ofthe thread upwardly from the deformable material and limit forwardmovement of the thread away from the mouth, and the vertical platetending to resist motion of a resillent thread to move toward thevselvage after cutting.

CLIFFORD DARWIN.

